Blanchard River is named after Jean Jacques Blanchard, a French tailor who arrived to the area in 1769. Blanchard settled on the banks of the river near what is now the village of Mount Blanchard and married a Shawnee woman. They are believed to have reared 7 children.
With his family, Asa Lake, a veteran of the American Revolution, was one of the first white settlers in the area in 1821. In 1830, Lake platted the first 53 lots of the town, opening the door to increased settlement.
Blanchard River played a critical role in the War of 1812 against the British Empire. Shortly after war was declared, Brig. Gen. William Hull, who presided over the Ohio troops, directed Col. James Findlay to open a road to the banks of the river to facilitate troop movement. Findlay also built a fort comprising of a stockade and 2 blockhouses for defense. Following the end of the war in 1815, settlers platted the area and incorporated the City of Findlay.
John Chapman, known today as Johnny Appleseed, opened a nursery in the village of Mount Blanchard in 1834. According to settlers' recounts from 1833, Chapman would distribute his fruit trees by canoe to the various communities along the banks of Blanchard River. Brockman Brower, of Greensburg Township, noted that Johnny Appleseed would give trees to all who would take them, regardless of whether they could afford to pay.
The area's largest hospital was founded in 1891 with the incorporation of the "Findlay Home for Friendless Women and Children" in the town of Findlay, near the banks of Blanchard River. The facility eventually moved to the "French Estate," which was purchased for $10,000 in 1895. Today, the hospital services communities in 8 counties up and down Blanchard River.
Blanchard River has been the site of much growth and prosperity, but it has also been the site of hardship and tragedy. Flooding has been recorded in the Mount Blanchard and Findlay areas for more than 100 years. The first recordings of river floods are from the early 1800s, when residents would retreat to their orchards above the shoreline to wait out the floods. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, the river crested more than a dozen times in Findlay, damaging large numbers of residences and commercial buildings.
Blanchard River has been known by more than 10 names over the past 200 years, including Tailor's River (supposedly in recognition of Blanchard the tailor), Blanchard's Fork and several regional Native Indian names.
